Chennai, July 7: Having notched a double apiece in the previous round last month, Rajiv Sethu and Vignesh Goud continued their fine run by notching their second consecutive pole positions as the second round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2023 commenced at the Madras International Circuit here on Friday.
Chennai-based Rajiv Sethu (RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) who marked his debut in the premium Pro-Stock 301-400cc category in the first round at Coimbatore last month with a grand double, secured his second consecutive pole position, albeit by one-hundredth of a second.
Sethu clocked a best lap of 01 minute, 50.708 seconds as against 01:50.718 by second-placed KY Ahamed (Petronas TVS Racing). Behind the pair was another Petronas TVS Racing rider, Deepak Ravikumar (01:50.882).
In fact, less than one second separated the top five as Petronas TVS Racing team-mates young Sarthak Chavan from Pune (01:50.996), in his first season in this category, and multiple National champion Jagan Kumar (01:51.351) qualified fourth and fifth, respectively.
In contrast, Hyderabad teenager Goud again dominated the Novice qualifying session with a top lap of 02:08.362, for his second pole position in a row that followed his double in Coimbatore last month. Manvith Reddy (RACR Castrol Power Ultimate1) from Bengaluru took P2 (02:09.998) ahead of Chengalpet’s Sangeeth Sundar (02:10.220).
Petronas TVS Racing’s spearhead KY Ahamed set the pace during Free Practice session in the Pro-Stock 165cc Open category, with a top lap of 01:57.488, ahead of Rajiv Sethu (RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) whose best was a 01:58.938 while Pacer Yamaha’s Prabhu Arunagiri was third quickest in 01:59.075. Meanwhile, Mathana Kumar (Pacer Yamaha), winner of both races in Round-1 last month, could not post any time due to a fall in his very first lap.
Former champion Ann Jennifer (Alpha Racing) warmed up by emerging the fastest in the Girls (Stock 165cc) category, posting a best time of 02:10.205, ahead of Ryhana Bee (Axor Sparks Racing) who did a hot lap of 02:11.770 while first round winner, Lani Fernandez (Castrol Power1 Ultimate) from Puducherry was third fastest in 02:11.847.
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup (NSF 250): Chennai’s Kavin Samaar Quintal topped the time sheets during the free practice session, clocking 01:50.671 that was way ahead of second-placed Raheesh Khatri (Mumbai, 01:54.996).
Petronas TVS One-Make Championship: Coimbatore’s Senthil Kumar S (01:55.017) qualified for pole position in the Open (RR 310) category with local challenger Alwin Sundar (01:55.083) in P2 and Bengaluru’s Chiranth Vishwanath (01:55.104) in third spot.
Chennai’s Nadine Faith Balaji grabbed pole position in the Girls (RTR 200) category with a hot lap of 02:14.928, followed by Bengaluru’s Nithila Das (02:15.187) and Sarah Khan from Mumbai (02:16.539).
In the Rookie (RTR 200) free practice session, Bengaluru’s Shreyas Hareesh, who scored a double in the first round last month, was the fastest in 02:05.336, ahead of local youngster Abdul Basim RS (02:05.795) while Savion Sabu, also from Bengaluru was third quickest in 02:07.099.
The results (Qualifying – top 3 best lap):
National Championship – Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open:
- Rajiv Sethu (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) (01min, 50.708secs);
- KY Ahamed (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (01:50.718);
- Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (01:50.882).
Novice (Stock 165cc):
- Vignesh Goud (Hyderabad, Race’ists Motorcycle Club) (02:08.362);
- Manvith Reddy (Bengaluru, RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) (02:09.998);
- Sangeeth Sundar (Chengalpet, Rookies Racing) (02:10.220).
Support Race – Novice 301-400cc (Stock):
- Rohit Lad (Pvt) (02:04.897);
- Aldrin Babu (RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) (02:05.223);
- Sai Krishna G (Pvt) (02:05.369).
Petronas TVS One-Make Championship – Open (RR 310):
- Senthil Kumar S (Coimbatore) (01:55.017);
- Alwin Sundar A (Chennai) (01:55.083);
- Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru) (01:55.104).
Girls (Apache RTR 200):
- Nadine Faith Balaji (Chennai) (02:14.928);
- Nithila Das (Bengaluru) (02:15.187);
- Sarah Khan (Mumbai) (02:16.539)
